I really like this article, its a very plausible idea, and alot of thought has gone into it. I do think it is a coincidence that the books fit in with each section, but then maybe everything happens for a reason???

Ok, so I'm not sure about the whole matching each book thing, but it was still interesting. What got me was when you go to the link to see the pictures, the 7 chakras are a line up through the body, the person sits in a triangular shape and there was a circle around the body... Here we go again with this symbol! so tell me what everybody thinks of the symbol/chakras connection. I'm sure about it myself yet! thanks for the inspiration!

Oh, yeah....And I have just realized the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were seven, too: the Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Temple Of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Light House of Alexandria.... No doubt everyone can see the clear relation between The Light House of Alexandria and The Lighting (Struck) Tower... Oh, I am sure we can predict book seven from that, can't we?..... Please, wait for my editorial on the subject!!

Oh come on, you have been giving examples of many characters that match the chacra's description but for some reason you have decided that it is Harry who is going to go and stay behind the veil.
What if it is Voldemort? It can be a fine end actually. The chosen one forces LV to enter the veil. Job done, no Unforgivables, no wand problems.

I think Harry will go behind the veil but will return. And LV will stay there.

Interesting editorial with a good argument. I hope the evidence is wrong, after all Jo has put Harry through I'd hate to see her kill him too! But, let's face it, if she doesn't kill him we'll bother her for the rest of her life to write another

Although this is an intersting editorial and is well researched and well written, it is not one I can agree with. I have known about the seven Chakras for a long time and I know what each of them represents and I have never considered there to be any more than a coincidental relationship to the Harry Potter series.

There is one part of this editorial I do agree with however, although not for the reason you give. Ever since OotP came out I have been convinced that the only way for Harry to defeat Lord Voldemort is through his own death. My interpretation of the prophesy prohibits any other outcome. Whether or not Harry will return from the dead I do not know but I think it could happen.

Harry is going to live. They would not invest money in an hp theme park at Universal if he died. JKR is writing childrens books if she kills harry after all he's been through she would be sending the wrong message to young people. It is a good Editorial.

Right, who edited this article? But I don't know, you could tie any 7-elemented mythological or spiritual or ritual or any thing to harry potter if you work hard enough, because everything in life is related and the most important elements of life are in everything, so... I still think harry will survive.

Interesting editorial, although I agree with DonaLonda “you could tie any 7-elemented mythological or spiritual or ritual or any thing to Harry Potter if you work hard enough”, but it is still nice to learn something new (well, I did).

I don’t have such strong opinion of if Harry going to die or not. Your conclustion that Harry going to past through the veil might not be that wrong as in Emerald’s A Celtic Solution to Harry's Conundrum she rose an new idea (for me) that Harry will past through the veil but will find a way back.

as said above, the fact that there are 7 chakras, seven books and a seven part soul is because, (as stated by voldemort), 7 is a sacred or magical number, not because the books are based on chakras. while i think the editorial was an interesting idea, i don't think what was done tied the books to the chakras in a clear way, and the conclusion at the end did not seem to follow from what came above. i have to commend the writer for coming up with a novel idea about a connection between the books and chakras, but i doubt that the connection is something planned by jo, and hence would not be helpful in predicting the result in the 7th book, even if a stronger connection had been made by the author of the editorial.

There was a time when every post would be saying that this was the most brilliant theory that's ever been proposed, and it's clearly right, simply because it is something new. Now, all posts are denouncing it. Could it be that us fans are getting a bit more cynnical?

Having said that, this was a very good editorial. I don't agree with it one bit, and think that any connections are simply coincidental, but it was well researched, well planned, and well written. Kudos to the author for having the courage to submit a genuinly novel idea.

I like this editorial and the extensive thought that went into it. While I doubt that the connection to the seven chakras was something planned by Jo, it is very interesting to see all the links that can be made.

In that vein, I noticed a few more connections, especially in book 5. The fifth book was supposed to correspond to the chakra relating to creativity, and it is in that book that we are introduced to Luna Lovegood, whose numerous theories and extraordinary creatures could be described as very creative, and Nymphadora Tonks, who changes her own appearance in very imaginative ways. Just something more to think about.

I would also like to say that while I think that your theory about Harry going beyond the veil is probably correct, I don't think it necessarily means that Harry will die. I read an editorial on Mugglenet about the connections between Harry Potter and Celtic mythology, in which heroes are often able to travel to the land of the dead without dying themselves (please read the editorial yourself, it is very well done and will provide more info on this subject than I ever could). In a more modern example - which came to mind when I read about the Celtic mythology link - the Disney version of Hercules shows the hero diving into the pool of the dead to retrieve Megara and save her life. This act should have killed him, and yet, because of his heroism and pureness of heart, he was able to survive (and become a god, but I don't think that has any relation to Harry).

It's probably just a coincidence, but at least there was a lot of thought put into it.

And American_allie, are you saying that the chakras form that weird symol on DH? If so, then that's pretty good evidence for this theory!

__________________"An Unbreakable Vow?" said Ron, looking stunned. "Nah, he canít have.... Are you sure?"
"Yes Iím sure," said Harry. "Why, what does it mean?"
"Well, you canít break an Unbreakable Vow..."
"Iíd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough."

Coincidence I sometimes feel people here forget that this story was totally invented by an autor... She's been writing her books for years before it was released. She choosed number 7 as an important number in her story. She made long and hard studies, worked a lot, made a lot of research... How can you imagine she never heard about shakras? Of course she knows about them Of course she was inspired by it, and many many other things. This is why so many people read it : it touches everyone's culture. Not so complicated, this is called esoterism. Particularly when you deal with magic, you can't avoid it. Who's gunna write about magic without sources???
Very nice editorial, which should be read along with the one mariamm gave the link, which is a celtic solution to Harry's connodrum.
I really enjoyed the humor

Okay, everyone, I'm finally here to defend my essay. Firstly, I must poitn a few things out. First, I wrote this essay around 7-8 months ago, before we even got the title of book 7, and Mugglenet just posted it. We've gotten quite a bit of new info since then, and in fact, I don't agree with some of the conclusions myself anymore.

I was always a strong propenent of Harry-will-live, and remain so. However, this seemed the onyl logical conclusion at the time. But since then I've done a bit of theorizing, seen the covers, and so forth. Which leads me to agree with the conclusion in that Celtic essay, that Harry will go beyond the Veil and come back out again.

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind comments. I am in no way saying that the books are based solely on the chakras, but I think there might be a connection. We've learned that precious little is a coincidence when Jo is concerned.

american_allie, that's a stupendous find! I'm nto sure what it could mean, I'm sorta drawing a blank where the symbol is concerned, but that is doubtlessly interesting. And Rincewizzard, I'm with you. This may not be the most obviously correct editorial, or the most likely, but I thought a bit of originality would do us all some good. I don't know about you guys, but I tend to groan now whenever I see an editorial on Snape.

I was dozing off in my Global Studies class, as my teacher talked about the ancient Hindu civilization.

I must say, it's a delight to see today's schools teaching about belief systems from outside the American mainstream! (Even if it may seem a bit dull to the students. ) If we're all to get along on this increasingly cramped planet, we need to understand what's important to each other. So I commend you, hpboy13, on awakening - literally - to yet another fantastic reference source JKR has used in the books.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbboy13

Then, we got a handout about chakras... There were seven of them... they can also be used to represent the seven soul-bits of Lord Voldemort, though the comparisons for that are a lot less compelling... And since these descriptions are probably not as detailed as some others, and Iím the only one making connections, there are probably many more connections that could be made. Iíve read every editorial here since the release of Book 5, and there wasnít a single one about this.

No... no editorials, but several of us discussed chakras at length in "Shamanism and the HBP Connection V.2," which is now in the Reference Books section in the History of Magic forum. For those interested, there are 48 posts in that thread that use the term "chakra" or "chakras" and... one post ... in V.1 of the same thread. Fair warning, we talked about many different belief systems in all our lengthy posts and, imo, got bogged down for a while by trying to interrelate several of them using the number seven as sacred with events and objects in HP. However, I don't think this diminishes the idea that chakras are referenced in HP as a means of structuring the number and type of horcruxes, and perhaps the books and characters as well, as you outline in the ed, hpboy13. Actually, we felt they related much more heavily to the horcruxes than to the books or characters. But yours is an interesting interpretation. And besides, mantra time, "With Jo, You Never Know."

If you do decide to write an additional ed on the possible chakra/horcrux connections, our discussions may be of use to you. We never settled completely on which chakra went with which horcrux, especially since we still don't know exactly what all the horcrux items are. But perhaps our insights will give you some of your own. (BTW, I don't know if other threads discussed chakras or in what context. A forum search could tell you that.)

One thing you may not have come across as a newcomer to chakras is that there is more than just one system of them and some of them vary in how many chakra points there are, what they are, and what they mean. However, the number, sites, and meanings you quote are probably the most common ones we in the West are familiar with, so there is validity in JKR using them in particular as reference points in the books.

Personally, I had only two issues with your application of the chakra descriptions you worked with. The first was for PoA. Your comparisons between the solar plexus chakra attributes and Hermione in PoA do work. However, I felt they applied as much or more to Sirius.

Quote:

Fire, Ego identity, oriented to self-definitionThis chakra is known as the power chakra, located in the solar plexus. This Chakra rules our personal power, will, and autonomy, as well as our metabolism. When healthy, this chakra brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, and non-dominating power.

It seems Sirius is re-establishing his self-definition of the Ego identity that was severely damaged by 12 years in Azkaban. He is a powerful personality with powerful magical abilities. His will and autonomy had been repressed, but began to be rebuilt after his escape. As of PoA, though, he was not healthy; he was tired, haggard, and neither spontaneous nor non-dominating. He was very, very focused on his desire to find and kill Peter and little else. His was an unhealthy third chakra, but one that did improve the longer he was free.

The second point was already alluded to by mariamm when she mentioned my own ed, A Celtic Solution to Harry's Conundrum. (I was very pleased and flattered to see it mentioned several times here. ) Yes, your chakra info suggests Harry will make a "connection" with "the greater world beyond." But in both mythology and in the chakra system itself, this does not refer to, or refer only to, actual death. It refers to becoming deeply spiritually aware through meditation, as well as shamanic journeys in some systems.

As to others' thoughts, I note many posters do not agree with your conclusions, thinking they are mere coincidence. (I also note, sadly, that too many of them are not very polite in saying so. Luckily it was not true of all of them!) Yet JKR did extensive research on history, myth, and spiritual systems as evidenced by numerous CoS threads pointing out and discussing the clues in the books that indicate as much. Jo is such a complex writer, she weaves so many different sources together all the while putting her own twist on them, I have no doubt she absolutely meant to at least reference those sources and, in some cases, make them integral to her plot, her symbolism, or both. Yes, it's true humans are quite good at seeing patterns and associations, sometimes legitimate, sometimes imagined. But knowing Jo's approach, I'd be very surprised if anything that seems to have multiple applications to each of the books in the series is nothing more than coincidence. To what degree they are, or are not, integral to the story is debatable and a definitive answer will have to come from Jo herself. (Hopefully!)

american_allie, thank you for finding the image association with the DH cover! I'd been wondering about that but hadn't had time to thoroughly peruse the forums for any info on it. I've learned the symbol has multiple associations, but surely the chakra image is one of them. The Indian culture that spawned the chakra system has come down through the millennia via emigration to itself spawn and contribute to related belief systems in other cultures, ones whose ties back to it are not always apparent to the casual observer (such as those who felt the editorial was "far-fetched"). This is one of the reasons many cultures view 7 as magical and one of the reasons many of those systems share similar symbols.

hpboy13, you said you were drawing a blank on the chakra/DH symbol. I believe she's referring to the "lotus position" in which a person sits to meditate, which is similar to "Indian style" (as in Native American) in the U.S.; on the floor with both knees bent and lower legs crossed like a pretzel. Then each hand is extended to rest on its corresponding knee. This makes the meditator look triangular in outline. The chakras make the line through the center as they trace the spine, and the circle represents the unity of life and spiritual energy.

I was quite pleased to see so many readers have taken to heart my idea of Harry visiting the Otherworld (i.e. beyond The Veil) and returning alive, as I discussed in my ed. I'd like to point out that Celtic myth is far from the only mythology in which this happens. As auror_cadet mentioned, Greek mythology also has examples. Most mythologies, that of India included, followed on the heels of the earliest religious systems, those directly involving shamanism, and that heritage is evident within myth. Travelling to alternate realms by means of meditation and trance inducing practices (and sometimes psychoactive drugs) to learn from the Ancestors and/or Spirits is what shamans (Medicine Men and Women) did/do - it was their role within their respective communities. Incidentally, much of what they say they learned there has scientific merit, yet it was gleaned in an era when there was no science as we know it. However, our science has also found evidence for the validity of accessing information through altered mental states. Life still contains much to discover, boys and girls, as we know relatively little about it all!

As far as the chakras are concerned, they are more than just symbolic attributes where alternative medicine is concerned, and they have close associations with the Chi energy pathways within the body used in Chinese accupuncture, something that is quite commonplace - and effective - in the West now. For all we know, the ancient peoples who originated these beliefe systems and practices were onto something we in the intellectualized "show me" era of science have too cavalierly tossed aside. Just because something is difficult to detect, or prove, through science, does not mean it doesn't exist and that we can't benefit from it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfgilgalad

How can you imagine she never heard about shakras? Of course she knows about them Of course she was inspired by it, and many many other things. This is why so many people read it: it touches everyone's culture. Not so complicated, this is called esoterism. Particularly when you deal with magic, you can't avoid it. Who's gunna write about magic without sources???

Only those who don't know what they're doing and don't care much about the results. And I like the way you think, sfgilgalad!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpboy13

We've learned that precious little is a coincidence when Jo is concerned... Rincewizzard, I'm with you. This may not be the most obviously correct editorial, or the most likely, but I thought a bit of originality would do us all some good.

Hear, Hear! A heartily agree!!

Finally, I know what you mean about having changed your mind since you wrote your editorial, hpboy13 - mine was published some 16 months after I submitted it! I did receive a lovely notice from MuggleNet that they'd posted it, though, with an apology for the delay. Apparently we lot were too prolific for their earlier staff numbers to cope with. I am sooo happy that problem has been remedied!

Emerald63, the system in which I was taught about different religions did nothing to further understanding or anything. Basically, it was Hinduism one week, Buddhism the next, Shinto the next, and a test on all three where we barely differentiated between them. There's still a long way to go.

Concerning the Horcruxes, I originally meant to do an edfitorial connecting chakras to both. However, I foudn that when I tried connecting them to Horcruxes, I coudl only do so by twisting everything as much as possible and in the end concluded that is just didn't fit well. But I will be sure to check out that thread!

I'm afraid I don't see another editorial abotu chakras in my near future. While 7 months is an improvement over 16, I still don't think I will. I did submit another editorial about Marauder-era romances, maybe they'll publish it by Christmas. Though for those interested, I have a Neville/Luna and an upcoming essay on Andromeda and Tonks in Leaky's Scribbulus (I sorta despaired about Mugglenet after a while)

Thanks for clearing things up about that symbol. I feel a bit awkward when people used to ask me what I thought of the symbol, and I really didn't have anything. But now I'm more convinced than ever that the books have something to do with chakras!

You make a very valid point about Sirius. However, this editorial is by no means analyzing all of the characters and possible connections, it's long enough already. Maybe someday I'll do an updated version

This was a fun editorial. Mostly because it was a bit far-fetched, but had interesting qualities none-the-less. Also because, being a fan of Avatar (yes!), chakras were introduced in the season finale so I was immediately hooked by the title. But it was an interesting read and well written, good job.

I think the editorial is a good one. JKR has obviously brought classical Greek mythology, medieval alchemy, and some Christian imagery into the series. Including the chakras makes sense--especially since two of the Hogwarts students are Asian Indian.

I tend to think, as you've already said, that Harry will go beyond the Veil and come back alive.

__________________WHY DUMBLEDORE TRUSTED SNAPE: PoA 204-5, 285, 361; GoF 588, 590-91; 709-10; OotP 363, 841-3; HBP 549 (American hardbacks). It's not because he said he was remorseful, it's what he did about it.